It was a wonderful day for a light hack and a hunt. Barnaby chose to saddle up Océane that morning, his Galarian RAPIDASH gifted to him by Martín del Mar . Her name was an homage to his friend who so dearly loved the sea.

Unfortunately, they weren't anywhere close to the ocean currently. In fact, it was the exact opposite - they were at a border where mountains met desert. Barnaby had been tipped off that a herd of Kantoan RAPIDASH had been seen in the area, so he came to investigate and maybe capture a few superior steeds.

"What in the—" The loud tumult of rock on dirt surprised Barnaby, but also stimulated his curiosity. With a dip of the reins he encouraged his horse forward.

It wasn't long before he found the source of the commotion: a woman riding an ONIX! A different mount, to be sure, though it was impressive how docile the giant was in her presence.

"Hello there!" He waved amicably in greeting, smiling up at her; that was the extent of the interaction, however. Now that Barnaby knew it was just someone with their Pokémon, he moved to continue on with his day and leave her to her own devices.

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]

☉

"hm?"

the sound of another's voice had francie's whole person perking up. like the ear of a canine pokémon, perched and attentive. her eyes blinked, curious, and then she eyed a head of blonde hair. oh, but what was he riding?!?!? the sight of the galarian pokémon caused her to grin.

"hello there! sorry if nicky and i startled you! he's harmless unless told otherwise, i promise."

because that's comforting to a stranger, sure.

"oh! are you here to investigate the rumors of a herd of galarian rapidash in the area?? i read about it in the rumor mill."

by the time she'd finished blabbing, nicky had lowered his head toward the stranger and allowed francie to slide off of his giant head. she landed on the ground but remained with her butt on nicky's head. he didn't mind, and if rock's could purr, that's what he was doing as he basked in the sunshine against the snow.

BARNABY FINCH

Most people would have just responded to Barnaby in kind; a friendly wave back, maybe even a returned greeting, perhaps. And then they would have parted ways, like two ships passing in the night. Strangers that would likely never meet again.

But not this woman. No, she approached with confidence and exuberance. As her ONIX lowered her to the ground, Barnaby pulled back lightly on his reins, indicating for Océane to halt.

"Oh, no worries." He began, a welcoming smile on his face as he looked down from the saddle. "I wasn't startled, just curious."

Now that she wasn't 25+ feet in the air anymore, Barnaby was able to get a better look at the bubbly woman. Her physical features seemed to match her sunny personality - golden hair with eyes to match, a shining smile. Beautiful, he thought idly.

"Ooh, perceptive." A nod of acknowledgement was given. "Not Galarian RAPIDIASH, no, but the Kantoan variety. Are you out here searching as well, miss...?" He let the sentence linger, hoping she'd fill in the rest.

"You're welcome to join me, if that's the case." A pause, then a small smirk. "Or if you'd just like the company."

Barnaby even went so far as to pat Océane's hindquarters, a gestured invitation implying she could ride double with him if she wanted.

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]

☉

"company and an adventure quest?! yes please! francie m. myrtle at your service!"

francie pulled her onix's capsule from her pocket and turned to give the giant rock a smooch, returning him as she stood back up and collapsed the sphere, putting it back onto the belt beneath her sweater.

"nicky could use the break anyway. he's been rollin' around the mountain side for like, two hours with me."

as francie approached the horse, it was then that she realized one very, very, important thing.

"...y'know, i don't think your rapidash would appreciate if i just tried to climb her like a rock wall," which is how she mounted most of her pokémon given they were, in fact, walking rock walls most of them. "so erm..."

a soft laugh was given before she finally confessed, "how do i get up there?"

BARNABY FINCH

"Ha! A pleasure to meet you, Miss Myrtle. I'm Barnaby Finch." The 'maybe you've heard of me' was left off of his introduction, but just barely.

"I love your enthusiasm, by the way. I think this'll be a fun little outing." A vote of confidence spoken as she approached.

Seeing her hesitation, though, he slid off Océane with the practiced ease of someone who had been riding for years. Important, as it seemed his companion for the day had absolutely no experience.

Her descriptive simile coaxed a laugh out of him; she was right, Océane was not one to tolerate the shenanigans of a greenhand. "An easy fix." His tone was light and reassuring.

"Here, let me help." Barnaby's hands carefully reached for Francie's waist. The touch was as casual and platonic as one could make it, but, still. Without much trouble he lifted her into the air and then onto the back of his horse.

He followed soon thereafter, expertly leaping back into the saddle. Smiling over his shoulder, he probed, "Comfortable?"

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]

☉

"oh wow-- okay."

with curious blinking she'd been lifted and placed on the back of the horse. her eyes flashed a few times, curious, and then she watched as he just casually got on the horse like it was no big deal.

francie was used to riding on top of rock pokémon, really. she'd never sat on one without the use of something to hold on to. so, naturally, her hands wanted to grip something but she didn't want to assume she was supposed to just loop her arms around mr. finch.

but it sorta felt right??

"thanks so much for helping, and complimenting me, and uh stuff but." but? how rude, she didn't even realize. "how am i supposed to hang on? oh? is it in the thighs?"

she didn't want to squeeze her thighs though, in case that meant something she didn't realize.

"i just, usually i've got like plenty of stones to hang onto y'know? now i'm just up here on the back of something else like, 'what do i do with my hands???'"

BARNABY FINCH

Ah, so many innuendos in such a short span of time. A myriad of potential replies crossed his mind, and if he was with Felix Gallagher or Martín del Mar perhaps Barnaby would have leaned into the more flirtatious ones.

But he wasn't. Instead, he was out in the middle of no where with a stranger. An attractive, trusting stranger, even; he didn't want her to perceive him as some skeevy pervert. So, Barnaby did his best to keep her comfortable in all senses of the word.

"Riding a horse isn't as simple as riding a bike, I'll give you that. It's a full-body experience. So, yes - all of the above."

A kind, reassuring smile crossed his face, like one a teacher would show their pupil. "The best riders move with their horses. Squeeze your thighs lightly, hold onto me if you'd like," He gestured for Francie to place her hands around his waist.

"But most importantly, rock your hips with the movement of the animal."

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]

☉

the way barnaby spoke was like some sort of ethereal prince and francie wouldn't ever believe otherwise. he was just so regal. he was precise. he knew exactly what he wanted to say and did so. with ease! like he had all his psyducks in a row, y'know?

did francie? hell to the no she didn't. she wasn't even sure she had psyducks, they were probably duckletts, the kind that quack and go cross eyed before drowning in their own bubblebeams, sigh.

"right, light thighs, i can hold here," her hand drift to his sides and then she's suddenly attached to him like a binacle. "and rock hips with rapidash."

no, she thinks nothing of the posture. yes, she's naive and super dense. it's fine. makes for good comedy anyway.

"thanks so much for-- oh watch out!"

suddenly, she's alert. her body language changes from unsure to oddly composed. she lifts a hand and points, sure to lean up a bit on him and even rolls her hips forward to get a bit higher.

"just there, it's a crustle. the coloring and the movements, i can tell. juuuuust a second," her words blur by the end and she's reaching for her belt beneath her sweater and tossing out her lycanroc, lyonel. "see it over there? stone edge, and keep an eye open for me."

the midnight form lycanroc just snorted before sniffing the air. he took off, at a wobbly speed, the thrill of a battle causing him to let out a howl. those glowing red eyes took a shine and he was quickly raising his large front paws up, summoning a STONE EDGE beneath the crustle, as a slight warning, before relaxing and waiting for the creature to either move, or not move.

though, a little torracat was dislodged as he did so, and it had lynoel letting out a grunt of sorts to the rapidash as if to warn it before returning his attention to the crustle. it returned the stone edge with a ROCK BLAST, which lyonel was able to easy grab with his mouth and talons, taking the blows with ease and returning them with a twist of his body and locking into the crustle with an IRON TAIL.

as if by instinct, francie pulled a free ball out of her pocket and tossed it at the crustle, grinning as it hit. she threw her hand into the air with a fist pump.

"nicely done lyonel!"

notes

// capturing crustle, -1 pokèball

BARNABY FINCH

An ethereal prince? You wouldn't see Barnaby denying it. It was a shame she didn't voice her thoughts aloud, honestly; then she'd see how precise he could really be.

Instead he continued to play the good chauffeur and instructor.

"Great, just like that—" The suddenness of her embrace caught him off-guard, but he quickly recovered. "Follow my movements."

A cluck of the tongue and a light squeeze from Barnaby encouraged the RAPIDASH forward at a steady walk. With Francie so close, it would be easy for her hips to rock in unison with his own.

The warmth and electric touch from her embrace was delightful, though. How long had it been since he'd had someone ride double with him?

Barnaby didn't have much time to reminisce, however, as they were suddenly accosted by a Pokémon. His composure remained fairly neutral, similar to Francie's - which was a bit of a surprise, given her demeanor up until now. A practiced trainer, huh? Perhaps there was more to this glowing woman than met the eye.

"Careful," He warned half-heartedly, as it seemed she and her LYCANROC knew what they were doing.

A flash of black and orange-red caught Barnaby's eye just then. It was a TORRACAT, attempting to flee from the commotion. Not exactly the fire type he was looking for, but he'd capture it regardless. A flick of the wrist released Evangeline, his STARMIE; its Scald was enough to bring the wild cat down without much fuss.

"Nicely done yourself, Miss Myrtle. Those were some well-executed commands!"

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]
catching TORRACAT <3

☉

"oh wow, thanks. yours too! that starmie's so super pretty."

one praise for another, right? because francie's the type of person that sees kind words as currency when they've given to her. like if somebody says something nice to her she's obligated to return the favor.

bad habit, but she's never been able to break it.

plus, barnaby deserved the praise!

"you're pretty great yourself. quick on your feet. she's super powerful, that starmie. i've thought about dabbling into different kids of pokémon, but all i've managed so far is a luxray. which ironically knows rain dance... that- uh, that's not super important so anyway."

she cleared her throat and looked to lyonel, smiling at him proudly.

"good boy."

he scoffed in return, because of course he was amazing, but he did appreciate the praise.

BARNABY FINCH

As if on cue with Francie's compliment, the STARMIE's inner gem flashed brightly, emitting a beautiful ruby glow. The outer ring of its appendages also began to sway lightly, approximating what could be considered happiness.

"Ah, yes, my Evangeline. It does like to show off." He chuckled, smiling warmly at the Mysterious Pokémon's antics.

"I can see the allure of specializing in only one type... I myself prefer Ice and Fire types, but—" He gestured to both of his Pokémon currently out at the moment. "—as you can see, sometimes it's hard to say no."

With a comical sigh, Barnaby clucked his tongue yet again to encourage his RAPIDASH forward. He needed to get them back on track with their search. Despite this, there was barely a lull in the conversation.

"An Electric type that can summon rain, huh? Interesting. Could make for a powerful combo!"

So far, he was actually enjoying Francie's company. Surprising, considering she was a literal stranger he'd encountered in the desert. But Barnaby's day had suddenly gone from being quiet and contemplative to companionable and pleasant.

He was taken somewhat aback by her next comment, though.

"That's alright, not all conversation has to be about important topics. Sometimes it's nice to just talk freely about inconsequential things."

He looked back over his shoulder with a reassuring smile.

francie myrtle
[fire/rock]
skipping~

☉